|
66 一战中的威尔森总统
THE MAKING OF A NATION - September 27, 2001: Woodrow Wilson, Part 6By Frank Beardsley
VOICE ONE:
THE MAKING OF A NATION -- A PROGRAM IN SPECIAL ENGLISH BY THE VOICE OF AMERICA.
(THEME)
I'm Maurice Joyce. Today, Larry west and I continue the story of American involvement in world war one. The nation's president at that time was Woodrow Wilson.
Voice two:
Nineteen-eighteen was the final year of the most terrible war the world had ever known. But world war one did not end quickly or easily. The German army made a final (1)effort to (2)defeat the (3)allies. The United States had entered the (4)conflict. And Germany wanted a (5)victory before large numbers of American (6)troops could get to Europe.
Germany's effort became easier after it signed a peace (7)treaty with the new Bolshevik government in Russia. The treaty made it possible for Germany to use all its forces against the allies on its western border. In the end, however, Germany's plan failed.
Allied troops pushed back the German attack in a (8)series of bloody (9)battles. The addition of American soldiers greatly increased allied strength.
Voice one:
The leader of American forces in Aurope was General John J.
Pershing. General Pershing used a (10)weapon new to the world of war: air power.
Airplanes were used first simply as 'eyes in the sky'. They discovered enemy positions so ground (11)artillery could fire at them. Then they were used as fighter planes. They carried guns to shoot down other planes. Finally, planes were built big enough to carry (12)bombs.
General Pershing also used another new weapon of war: tanks. He put these (13)inventions together for his battle plan against Germany.
Voice two:
Pershing's target was the Argonne forest. It was a tree-covered area Germany had held since nineteen-fourteen.
The forest was protected by (14)barbed wire and by (15)defensive positions built of steel and (16)concrete. It was the strongest part of the German line. It also was the most important part. If Argonne fell, Germany's final lines of defense would fall.
The fighting in the Argonne forest was (17)fierce. Thousands of men died. Sometimes, troops got lost because the forest was so thick with trees. But day by day, the allies pushed the Germans back.
Voice one:
Germany's leaders were losing hope. In September, nineteen-eighteen, they met with German ruler Kaiser Wilhelm. The army (18)chief reported that the war was lost. Germany had no choice, he said. It must give back all the (19)territory it had seized and try to (20)negotiate a peace agreement.
Other officials told the Kaiser that the situation at home was bad, too. People were (21)starving. (22)Revolutionaries were (23)plotting to (24)overthrow the government.
Kaiser Wilhelm agreed it might be best to seek peace now...before Germany was (25)destroyed completely. He asked his foreign secretary to send a secret message to American president Woodrow Wilson. The message would (26)propose immediate negotiations to end the war.
Voice two:
President Wilson received it. He did not tell the other allied leaders. Instead, he returned a message to Germany. Wilson asked if Germany was willing to accept the peace proposals he had offered many months earlier.
Germany's (27)chancellor answered that his government did accept the proposals. However, the events of war ended the secret exchange of messages between Germany and the United States. German (28)submarines had increased attacks on allied shipping. Two (29)passenger ships were sunk. Eight-hundred-twenty persons were killed. Many were women and children.
President Wilson was (30)shocked. He told Germany there could be no peace negotiations with such an inhuman enemy.
Voice one:
In late October, nineteen-eighteen, Wilson sent a final message to Germany. He wanted a settlement that would make it impossible for Germany to fight again. Germany, Wilson said, must (31)promise to (32)withdraw its forces from all allied territory. It also must close its weapons factories.
Wilson added that the allies would negotiate only with a government that truly represented the people of Germany...not with military rulers.
The new German chancellor was Maximilian, (33)prince of Baden. Prince max received president Wilson's message. He succeeded in getting Kaiser Wilhelm to (34)dismiss the man responsible for German military policy. But he failed to get the Kaiser himself to give up power.
Voice two:
Not all allied leaders supported president Wilson's plan to end world war one. They could not agree on some parts of it.
Britain, for example, (35)opposed the part about freedom of the seas. Britain said it would prevent the kind of (36)naval (37)blockade which had been so effective against Germany. France and Italy opposed the part about creating a new international organization. Wilson had called it a (38)league of nations.
To solve these differences, Wilson sent his closest adviser to Europe to meet with allied leaders. The discussions were long and sometimes bitter. Many of the allies thought Wilson was being too kind to the defeated enemy. But in the end, they all agreed to accept the plan as a starting point for peace talks.
Voice one:
By this time, in early November, the situation in Germany was growing worse. Communists and socialists were calling for a rebellion. The navy was ordered to go to sea. Sailors refused, and killed some officers. Reports told of (39)rebellion in parts of the German army, too.
The nation's leaders had no choice. They would negotiate a peace treaty. On the morning of November eighth, a German delegation went to allied military headquarters to discuss terms.
Voice two:
The Germans were met by the (40)supreme allied commander, marshal Ferdinand Foch of France. Foch greeted them coldly. And he did not offer peace terms until they officially asked for a ceasefire. Germany -- not the allies -- had to put down its weapons first.
The Germans were shocked when they heard the terms. The list was severe.
Among other things, Germany must withdraw its forces from all occupied territories. It must give up Alsace-Lorraine, a part of France it had held for almost fifty years. It must give up most of its weapons including airplanes, submarines, and battleships. And it must turn over large numbers of trucks, railroad (41)engines, and other supplies.
Voice one:
The German delegation said it could not sign such an agreement. Germany, it said, was not surrendering. It was only asking for a ceasefire. The delegation said it could not accept the peace terms without communicating with the government in Berlin.
But the German government was falling apart. Kaiser Wilhelm had finally resigned and left the country. A new cabinet had been formed. And a new prime minister had declared a German republic. Yet the situation remained unsettled.
Because of this, the German delegation negotiating with the allies had to decide for itself. After much argument, the men agreed to the allied terms. They signed the peace treaty. A ceasefire began a few hours later.
Voice two:
News that the shooting had stopped set off wild celebrations throughout the world. People danced in the streets. They cheered the end of the worst war in history.
There were celebrations along the battle lines, too. But these were quiet. Soldiers from both sides climbed out of long trenches dug in the ground. They met the men who, a short while earlier, had been their deadly enemy.
The bloody European conflict was over. The dispute, however, was not. Another fierce battle was ready to begin. This time, the battle would be among diplomats. The fight over the peace treaty officially ending world war one was about to begin.
That will be our story next week.
(theme)
Voice one:
You have been listening to the making of a nation -- a program in special English by the voice of America. Your narrators were Maurice Joyce and Larry west. Our program was written by frank Beardsley. The voice of America invites you to listen again next week at this same time, when we will continue the story of American president Woodrow Wilson.
(1)effort[5efEt]n.努力, 成就
(2)defeat[ di5fi:t ]n.击败, 战胜, 失败vt.击败, 战胜, 使失败, 挫折v.击败
(3)allies[`AlaIz]n.联盟国, 同盟者
(4)conflict[ 5kCnflikt ]n.斗争, 冲突vi.抵触, 冲突
(5)victory[ 5viktEri ]n.胜利, 战胜, 克服, [罗神]胜利女神
(6)troop[ tru:p ]n.群, 组, 多数, 军队vi.群集, 结队, 成群而行vt.把(骑兵)编成骑兵连
(7)treaty[ 5tri:ti ]n.条约, 谈判
(8)series[ 5siEri:z ]n.连续, 系列, 丛书, 级数
(9)battle[ 5bAtl ]n.战役(指大规模会战), 战争vi.作战, 战斗, 搏斗, 斗争
(10)weapon[ 5wepEn ]n.武器
(11)artillery[ B:5tilEri ]n.炮的总称, 炮兵的总称
(12)bomb[ bCm ]n.炸弹vt.投弹于, 轰炸
(13)invention[ in5venFEn ]n.发明, 创造
(14)barb[ bB:b ]n.鱼钩, 鱼叉的倒钩, 巴巴里鸽(一种类似信鸽的鸽子)vt.装倒钩于
(15)defensive[ di5fensiv ]adj.防御用的, 自卫的n.防御
(16)concrete[ 5kCnkri:t ]adj.具体的, 有形的n.混凝土v.用混凝土修筑, 浇混凝土, 凝结
(17)fierce[ fiEs ]adj.凶猛的, 猛烈的, 热烈的, 暴躁的<美>极讨厌的, 难受的, <英方>精力旺盛的
(18)chief[ tFi:f ]n.首领, 领袖, 酋长, 长官, 主要部分, 最有价值的部分adj.主要的, 首要的, 首席的, 主任的
(19)territory[ 5teritEri ]n.领土, 版图, 地域
(20)negotiate[ ni5^EuFieit ]v.(与某人)商议, 谈判, 磋商, ,买卖, 让渡(支票、债券等), 通过, 越过
(21)starve[ stB:v ]vt.使饿死vi.饿得要死
(22)revolutionary[ 5revE5lu:FEnEri ]adj.革命的
(23)plot[ plCt ]n.地区图, 图, 秘密计划(特指阴谋), (小说的)情节.结构vt.划分, 绘图, 密谋vi.密谋, 策划
(24)overthrow[ 7EuvE5WrEu ]n.推翻, 打倒, 扔得过远得球vt.打倒, 推翻, 颠覆
(25)destroy[ dis5trCi ]vt.破坏, 毁坏, 消灭v.消灭, 摧毁
(26)propose[ prE5pEuz ]vt.计划, 建议, 向...提议, 求(婚)vi.打算, 求婚
(27)chancellor[ 5tFB:nsElE ]n.长官, 大臣
(28)submarine[ 5sQbmEri:n, sQbmE5ri:n ]n.潜水艇, 潜艇adj.水下的, 海底的
(29)passenger[ 5pAsindVE ]n.乘客, 旅客
(30)shock[ FCk ]n.打击, 震动, 冲突, 休克, 突击, 禾束堆, 乱蓬的头发vt.使震动, 使休克, 使受电击, 震惊得vi.震动, 吓人adj.蓬乱的, 浓密的
(31)promise[ 5prCmis ]vt.允诺, 答应n.允诺, 答应, 许诺
(32)withdraw[ wiT5drC: ]vt.收回, 撤消vi.缩回, 退出v.撤退
(33)prince[ prins ]n.王子
(34)dismiss[ dis5mis ]vt.解散, 下课, 开除, 解职, 使(或让)离开vi.解散
(35)oppose[ E5pEuz ]vt.反对, 使对立, 使对抗, 抗争vi.反对
(36)naval[ 5neivEl ]adj.海军的
(37)blockade[ blC5keid ]n.阻塞vt.封锁
(38)league[ li:^ ]n.同盟, 联盟, 盟约, 联合会, 社团v.组联盟, (使)加盟
(39)rebellion[ ri5beljEn ]n.谋反, 叛乱, 反抗, 不服从
(40)supreme[ sju:5pri:m ]adj.极度的, 极大的, 至高的, 最高的
(41)engine[ 5endVin ]n.发动机, 机车, 火车头
|